


Is Something Burning?

by skittenninja



Series: Whumptober 2020 [14]
Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Burning alive, Burns, Fire, Gen, Hurt Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Major Character Injury, Near Death Experiences, Whump, Whumptober 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:13:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27075529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skittenninja/pseuds/skittenninja
Summary: Whumptober 2020 Day 14: Of all the times Hiccup had nearly died, staring down a torch as he stood upon a pyre had to be the most terrifying.
Series: Whumptober 2020 [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1949905
Comments: 4
Kudos: 25





	Is Something Burning?

Of all the ways Hiccup could possibly die, this had to be the worst.

He struggled pointlessly against the rope that bound his wrists together, the abrasiveness of the material cutting into his skin with every moment, as if mocking his efforts. The dead tree he was tied to didn’t budge in the slightest when Hiccup pushed his weight against, even the plant’s small stature thwarting his attempts at escape. Kindling crunched under his feet with every frantic half-step he took, Monstrous Nightmare gel making the ground slick and threatening to knock Hiccup off balance any second.

An amused chuckle came from in front of him, and Hiccup looked up just so he could glare daggers at Viggo again.

“I must say, this is a rather sorry sight,” Viggo mused, casually holding the torch, the weapon of Hiccups’ destruction, in one hand. “After all this time, I didn’t think it would be so easy.”

“It won’t be,” Hiccup retorted, this time pulling towards his enemy, rope making contact against the decaying bark of the tree. A part of him hoped, against all logic, that this would be enough to cut him free.

“And how is that?” Viggo asked him, smug smile never leaving his face. He could light the makeshift pyre at any second, end it all at any moment, but he was deliberately choosing not to.

He wanted to draw this out to enjoy it.

Hiccup had no reply for his question, continuing to aimlessly pull against his restraints. This time, something changed, though it wasn’t by much. He felt a small release in tension, so tiny and so brief that Hiccup had to wonder if he’d imagined it out of desperation.

It wasn’t much, but it was a start.

“What, no clever retort? No witty remark? Come on now, Hiccup, half of the fun in all of this is our little game. Have you decided not to play because you know you’ve lost?”

The comment made Hiccup stop moving for a second, icy dread settling in his stomach as the gravity of the situation became increasingly real.

He had lost, hadn’t he? There was no one around to save him. No one around to hear him scream. No dragons, no people. Just him, Viggo, and the torch.

“Well, if that’s all you’ve got to say,” Viggo continued, starting to walk towards Hiccup, “Then I think we’re done here.”

As he was taking those steps, moving ever closer, an idea suddenly struck Hiccup. He would have to time it right, and it could easily backfire, but it was the one shot he had at getting out of this mess alive.

He had to take it.

“Goodbye, Hiccup Haddock,” Viggo said, tone dripping with a sickening arrogance. He was so close now, all he needed to do was take another step.

He moved again, and inside, Hiccup smiled.

“I can’t say I’ll miss-“ Viggo started, but his musings were interrupted by Hiccup delivering a swift kick to his abdomen. It wasn’t exactly where he’d been aiming, but it would have to do.

As Hiccup hoped, Viggo fell backwards from the blow and dropped the torch.

As Hiccup had feared, the torched rolled towards the pyre, flames dancing towards his doom.

He had to get out immediately.

With all the strength and ferocity he had, Hiccup pulled against the ropes on his wrists, time seeming to slow down as the torch lit the Monstrous Nightmare and horribly dry kindling. The bindings gave slightly again, but with sheer terror that hit him like a sheet of ice, Hiccup knew that it wouldn’t be enough.

The flames reached him, smoke and reds and oranges consuming his entire world. He felt fifteen again, racing up through the sky and away from a fiery explosion, only to be knocked down again at the last moment.

This time, he was awake for it.

Fire reached his legs and the scream of agony that Hiccup let out wasn’t enough to encapsulate the pain he was in. It was death. It was worse than death. It was every horrible thing he’d experienced multiplied by a million and composited into this one physical experience, smoke entering his lungs and cries for it all to stop, for someone to save him exited them.

It was eating him alive, and it wouldn’t stop until nothing was left.

Thankfully, it never got to that point, although Hiccup wasn’t really aware of what happened next. There was something that sounded like a Night Fury firing off a plasma blast, then an explosion right after, one that sent him and the pyre flying in a violent and fiery finale.

There were burns everywhere now. Every part of Hiccup’s skin seemed to revolt against him and the only thoughts in his mind were that of pain, pain, pain over and over again, smoke and noise and more horrible fire blurring around him as he was trapped in the hell that was his own body.

Something caught him. Something that moved fast and was covered in black scales. Hiccup could feel them both crash to the ground as it held him, the flames finally being snuffed out but the impact sending a new kind of pain that added to the melange of agony.

He didn’t know if he was crying anymore. He couldn’t hear if he was screaming. He couldn’t remember how to breathe.

Hiccup was only granted any kind of respite when the world faded to black.

**Author's Note:**

> Aaaah I'm still behind on prompts :( Hopefully I'll catch up soon.


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